For Spring Break, we headed south to North Carolina... the mountains, not the beach! We went to a town called Brevard, near Asheville. Lots of nature, and rumored to be a mountain bike mecca. It took about 8.5 hours to get there, and luckily the kids were angels in the car. We rented a cabin with lots of land and its own pond. Good thing we took the truck - the road to get there was gravel and straight up a mountain! In addition to being famous for mountain biking, it's also called "land of the waterfalls". So, be prepared to be inundated with waterfall and kid pics!!!
As soon as we got there and unpacked the truck, we set off to explore/hike in Dupont State Park. After hiking, we hit the grocery store for the bare necessities, then back to the house for dinner and puzzles. After starting the day at 3:30 a.m., we sure were ready for bed...
Sunday we spent the day doing some more hiking and hanging out...
The first 2 days were sunny and in the upper 70s. Monday was cooler and cloudy, with rain in the forecast. We set off to Chimney Rock, where we haven't been since just after we got married. There were plenty of steps, and most of the overlook areas were covered in fog... but it fun nonetheless. We even came down for lunch in town, then went back to hike more! And the rain held off until we were about 5 minutes from done all the walking : )
Tuesday it rained on and off all day, so we planned to go to nearby Hendersonville. Visited a few shops and had some Mexican for lunch. Charlotte got her very first "big girl ring" - an emerald (NC state gem). We went to a children's museum and had ice cream too! After town, Lucas went fishing for 5 minutes by himself and came back banging on the door that he caught one and needed help. Sure enough, he got a several pound trout. And the rule at the house pond was you had to keep trout. So, as not to be wasteful, we (Tony) cleaned it and we had it for dinner. Surprisingly, Lottie ate hers up quickly!
Wednesday, our last whole day there, we headed to Pisgah State Forest nearby. Tony wanted to see a different type of mountain biking, and there was a nature center and more waterfalls to explore. It was quite the off-road adventure to drop Tony at the trailhead, then we went to the nature center where we accidentally spent over 3 hours. It was super fun! Scavenger hunt for kids, wood blocks the kids built and baby knocked over, and lots of cool trails with things to see!
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| Lydia pointed at this deer and said "ruff ruff" every time she saw it! |
After we picked Tony up, we made our trip back out of the state forest. More waterfalls, and a place called "Sliding Rock". In the summer, thousands of people each day come here and use this sloping, flat rock like a water slide. Looked really fun. We even saw one guy try it out even though the water was COLD!
Thursday - leaving day! Instead of getting up and out early, we decided to do a few things and head out mid-afternoon, even though it meant not getting home until late. Tony and Lucas did their 3rd bike ride together while me and the girls went to Holmes State Park to do the "talking tree trail". Along the path, there were buttons you could push to find out facts about nearby trees, etc. Then we had lunch at the infamous Hot Dog World, visited the prize winning goats at the Carl Sandburg house (there were cute 2 week old babies!), and headed home. Once again, kids were great in the car and we got home around 11 p.m.
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